The West’s Perception of Veiled Muslim Women Essay

Abstract

The contemporary society is sensitive to the forms of dressing depicted by various communities. Wearing of the veil by the Muslim women has been viewed differently by some groups especially those affiliated with the Western culture.

Some values within the Islamic culture require women to observe such dress code, and thus the public’s criticisms surrounding wearing the veil tend to collide with these values. Consequently, the media, feminist movements, human rights agencies, and the public have their understanding of veiling the Muslim women. This paper seeks to analyze the different viewpoints and reactions surrounding the hijab issue.

Introduction

The Islamic culture values the veil as an important garment that complements the expected dressing code. Muslims refer the veil or headscarf as hijab, which means “cover” in the Arabic language (Bullock, 2002). The shift towards the postmodern culture has brought about secularization, which has had an impact on the perception of wearing the veil among the Muslim women.

For this reason, the wearing of the veil among the Muslim women has been a topic of heated debate in the 21^st Century. Some parties have questioned whether it is an obligation of faith or symbol of the Muslim women’s oppression. This paper will seek to analyze the different aspects that influence the Western world’s perspective on wearing of the veil by the Muslim women

The West’s View on the Islamic Vail

The West perceives the hijab as a symbol of oppression of Muslim women. Feminists and the media have propagated this claim since they regard Islamic women who wear the veil as an oppressed group that is suffering in enslavement. Human rights advocates have refuted this claim by arguing that socio-economic factors attribute to the oppression of women even in non-Islamic states.

The rationale behind this argument is that the exposure of almost naked women in billboards, commercials, and the entertainment industry in the Western societies is an explicit depiction of oppression (Goodwin, 2002). The Western world tends to be characterized by secular social and economic structures and they arguably intend to spread the culture to other societies including the Arabic region. For this reason, the capitalistic society has created economic disparities, and thus women are ready to expose their bodies in commercials and the entertainment sector in a bid to elevate their economic and social status.

The Western media has played a significant part in influencing the people’s perspectives on the hijab issue. The media has advocated for a “fashion revolution” in countries such as Iran where women have responded by organizing fashion shows that indicate new adjustment to the way the hijab is worn (Waterlow, 2015). The justification of “fashion revolution” in Iran is that it is a representation of the modern Iranian women for audiences beyond the Iranian borders (Gehrke-White, 2007). In this regard, the media tends to initiate a revolution that seeks the abandonment of the veil dressing traditions.

The media has been in a position to associate the Muslims’ dress code with terrorism. According to Gehrke-White (2007), in particular, the hijab is thought to be a strategy to conceal one’s identity in the acts of terrorism. Consequently, the veiling of the Muslim women has resulted in stereotypes that link the dress code to negativity, hence influencing the public’s understanding of the wearing of the Hijab.

The feminists of the modern world tend to lean towards the idea that Muslims need to be liberated from the cultural shackles that force them to dress in a particular way. They have condemned the code of dressing as portrayed by the Muslims women. According to Bullock (2002), the young feminists mostly from the West tend to reject their femininity instead of celebrating it. For this reason, they influence the Muslim women to apply makeup, dress according to the trending fashion, alter their hair, carry handbags, and wear high-heeled shoes. To them, this aspect implies liberation, and thus they seek to spread it to the Islamic culture.

The Importance and Value of the Islamic Veil to Women

The Muslim women wear the veil for reasons based on their cultural values. Most of the women believe that the veil should be worn to fulfill God’s commandment for modesty (Ali-Karamali, 2008). Therefore, it becomes a woman’s personal choice to wear the veil as a form of expressing devotion to God. The Islamic culture expects women to be humble in all their approaches, and thus wearing the veil after one goes through the puberty phase is a show that she is not bragging for the achievement.

The hijab has been valued as a way of openly expressing the women’s Islamic identity. The essence behind this argument is to portray the women’s political and social affiliation, thus challenging any criticisms of the West towards the Islamic culture and especially the role of women (Bullock, 2002). In this light, women could be easily identified as a gender that has its political and social position in the Islamic culture. Therefore, Muslim women tend to express their ability to make independent decisions without fear of being criticized based on religious teachings.

The Islamic culture upholds that what is not necessary for the public eye should be kept private (Goodwin, 2002). In this light, matters of the house should be held within the private sphere whereby women are not expected to expose their bodies to the public, but only to their husbands. Men are considered to be easily aroused by a woman’s physical complexity when exposed; hence, veiling women fosters self-control on sexuality matters.

The Quran provides that veiling is highly appropriate so that women may be known, and thus not be harassed. This assertion implies that the veil is essential clothing that frees women from being viewed as sexual objects of desire. Additionally, the veil symbolizes that a woman has been committed to only one man hence limiting all others from approaching them. Therefore, in Islam, the veil acts as a shield that fosters women to be viewed as intellectual individuals rather than being valued for their physical appearance.

Additionally, wearing the veil together with other garments such as the kameez, jellabas, and salvar adds value to the dressing expectations among the Muslim women (Ali-Karamali, 2008). This aspect implies that wearing such garments ensures comfort in instances such as breastfeeding in the public without attracting attention. The veils can also be used to protect the breastfeeding children from flies and dust, which underscores the health consciousness of Muslim mothers. Therefore, the veil and other garments are valued by Muslim women as a way of celebrating their motherhood functions in a decent manner.

Human Rights Activists’ View on the Veil

Agencies concerned with human rights issues regarding the veil have approached the topic from different viewpoints. Bullock (2002) argues that the human rights’ perspective on veiling of the Muslim women is concerned with the aspects of gender equality and freedom of expression. Some human rights activists consider the wearing of the hijab as a human right. This observation is a reaction towards the allegations that the wearing of the hijab is a symbol of oppression of the Muslim women.

The basis of this human rights perspective is against the notion that women wear the veil as a show of submission to men and they would discard the veils once they attain freedom. According to Bullock (2002), the Western world’s negative attitude towards the hijab has further been disapproved by some human rights activists who support their arguments by insisting that women are comfortable wearing the veil. The veil is considered as a way of controlling both the men and women’s sexual desires, and thus condemning the hijab is similar to infringement of one’s sexual rights.

On the other hand, some activists have advocated against legislations that make it mandatory for women to wear the veil. An Iranian activist won the International Human Rights Award for campaigning against the Hijab. Masih Alinejad, a journalist, received the award for continuously supporting the Iranian women who decided not cover their heads with the veil since they had a right to choose what to wear (Dehghan, 2015).

After the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the authorities in Iran passed a legislation that required all women to wear the veil in public and government facilities (Ali-Karamali, 2008). This move was perceived as a violation of human rights, hence it necessitated advocacy against the discriminative law. Masih Alinejad used the social media to drive the agenda, thus giving a voice to the ‘voiceless’ in the Iranian society (Dehghan, 2015).

Conclusion

The veiling of the Muslim women has elicited mixed reactions from groups such as feminists and human rights advocates. Most Muslim women perceive the wearing of the veil as a personal choice since religious doctrines do not force one to put on the veil. The Western world understands the wearing of the hijab as a manifestation of oppression and submission to men. This perception has been facilitated by the media, human rights agencies, and feminist movements.

References

Ali-Karamali, S. (2008). The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and That Veil Thing. Ashland, OR: White Cloud Press.

Bullock, K. (2002). Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil: Challenging Historical & Modern Stereotypes. Surrey, UK: International Institute of Islamic Thought.

Dehghan, S. (2015). Iranian woman wins rights award for hijab campaign. The Guardian. Web.

Gehrke-White, D. (2007). The Face behind the Veil. New York, NY: Citadel.

Goodwin, J. (2002). Price of Honor: Muslim Women Lift the Veil of Silence on the Islamic. New York, NY: Plume.

Waterlow, L. (2015). 100 years of beauty, revolution and repression: From wavy hair in the Forties to enforced hijabs in the Eighties, how Iranian fashion has changed over the decades. Mail Online. Web.